The FTL Chamber of Commerce x Florida Panthers mural encompasses the natural beauty and personality of our South Florida home and Florida Hockey Team. In collaboration with local artist Carlos Solano, the Florida Panthers curated this masterpiece with inspirations stemming from our traditional hockey culture, energy from our fans and passion from the organization. The mural also pays homage to the south Florida environment and features colorful, engaging elements to bring everything together.

Highlighted in the center is our mascot, the Florida panther, surrounded by an abstract depiction of the state of Florida shaped as a hockey player's arm wearing a jersey and holding a hockey stick. The sawgrass element represents the Everglades, while the crashing wave symbolizes our Florida oceans. The surrounding elements are curated from our natural Florida setting and team itself.

Along with the mural, we have a Smart Plaque placement on the wall for your smartphone, which transforms the mural into a gallery experience. You will be able to hear the story about the mural by a recording provided by the organization and artist. The Panthers will also be installing Braille on the wall for the seeing impaired to enjoy the mural as well.

The Chamber of Commerce donated the wall to the Florida Panthers. Panthers worked with Twenty26North productions to source local artist Carlos Solano who worked very closely with the team's creative and marketing team. Carlos worked with the Florida Panthers creative team on the creative direction and concept to bring the art to life.

#GoCats

Carrie Bennett is an artist, art director & educator from Lighthouse Point, Florida. She is a painter, chalk muralist, and arts editor for Pompano Magazine. Bennett directs art workshops, chalk festivals & public art collaborations in her local community while teaching art full time to k-8 students.

When not teaching art, she travels both locally & internationally for street painting festivals, creates live art for events, and helps to connect artists of all ages. Her passion is to see global transformation through powerful public art and to raise up artists who transform their city with creative vision.

Inspired by the colorful street art showcased in Miami's world-famous Wynwood Arts District, the idea behind Curran's piece was to raise awareness about the endangered Florida panther.

Taking roughly three days to complete, the mural, which is located on the arena's upper-level, features a stunning panther, full of earthy-colored triangles, set atop a red background. To the left of the animal are three palm tree silhouettes, a large Panthers team logo and #OneTerritory.

"I liked the style that I did it in," Curran said of the completed work. "Technically, it's a little bit more time consuming, but you can really dial in some detail with it. It's interesting and different."

Curran said the concept was also influenced by Arlin Graff, a popular Brazilian street artist.

"He does stuff similar to this," Curran said. "I've working like that for a little while."

SURGE, a contemporary artist born in Los Angeles and raised in Miami has taken his bold, unmistakable style straight from his sketchbooks to the sun-stained streets of South Florida and beyond. Surge's love for cartoons and brilliant colors, along with a passion for hip hop culture, has shaped his artistic identity and resulted in work that can now be seen everywhere from walls in Miami's legendary Wynwood Arts District to live painting performances during some of the area's most high-profile events.

His vibrant illustrations feature anthropomorphized characters that are both brash and inviting. Surge has worked with Brands like NIKE, ADIDAS, NBA, Super Bowl Host Committee, Miami Dolphins, Florida Panther, Microsoft, Pepsi and Bud Light to name a few. It is the ability to be daring and free with his art that is ultimately closest to Surge's heart.